Danielle Carr, Chanel Klein, Tanushree Pillai / December 7, 2017

Maxi and Steph are female Lionhead rabbits who were abandoned by their owners and are now living at a shelter, waiting to be adopted. Their story is a common one – bought or rescued by pet-curious owners but abandoned due to housing restrictions.

At their new home at the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BCSPCA), Maxi and Steph share space with other rabbits. It’s a fate that Vancouverite Claire Gabereau wouldn’t dare dream of for her two dogs, Ruben and Pearl.

Claire and her fiancé
pose with their two dogs Pearl (left)
and Rueben (right)
(Claire Gabereau / Facebook)

Gabreau’s new landlord recently sent her a notice to get rid of Ruben and Pearl. She is also five months pregnant and may have to end up moving again.

“We just moved into a place and 1 month later, I got a letter from the building strata saying we aren’t allowed pets and have one month to get rid of our dogs. Our landlord said it was fine but apparently the [strata] building does not allow pets?” – Claire Gabreau, a pet owner.

Although Gabreau’s pets are dogs, the fate for rabbits is worse given how pet-owners underestimate their needs.

Currently, under BC laws, pets are considered property and therefore a privilege for owners like Gabereau.

More importantly, those same laws allow landlords and strata corporations to ban pets in their properties.

As a result, pet owners like Gabreau are forced to make a decision they never thought they would – give up their pet or give up their home.

This domino effect takes its toll on animal shelters that are saddled with abandoned pets, especially rabbits.

Rise in abandoned bunnies

The BC SPCA cares for more than 26,000 surrendered animals in it 44 branches across the province. 22% of these pets were abandoned for housing-related reasons – that’s 1500 abandoned animals a year.

At the Vancouver Rabbit Rescue & Advocacy (VRRA) foster home, Jingles, Meeka and Blossom were all rescued from abandoned bunny hotspots in the Lower Mainland.

The Vancouver SPCA branch houses many bunnies and other animals (Chanel Klein/BCIT News)

Meeka was found abandoned in North Vancouver along with another rabbit.
(Danielle Carr/BCIT News)

While both Jingles and Blossom hop around, Meeka is disabled because she has extensive urine burns on her hind legs. She depends on a bunny wheelchair to scoot around and keep up with her friends. Both her and Jingles also have paralysis.

Such extensive physical and brain injuries are not uncommon to abandoned rabbits, according to rescuers and advocates.

Michelle Lemoignan is a volunteer rabbit caretaker at the VRRA who is currently helping Meeka get accustomed to her wheelchair. She says some hotspots typically have 2-3 dumps a day.

“Pre-Christmas and Easter are bad times for rabbit shelters because people are getting ready to go on vacation, so finding a sitter for the rabbit is a lot of work. And so, they think “we’ll just let it go free in the park, or dump it on the side of the road or let it loose in the yard”. This is a common occurrence with rabbits.” – Michelle Lemoignan, VRRA Rabbit Rescuer

Jericho Beach, Richmond, Delta, UBC, Stanley Park and the University of Victoria are the typical hotspots for abandoned bunnies. Some areas are home to nearly 1000 rabbits.
(Google Maps)

Rabbit rescuers says freshly dumped rabbits find it extremely hard to get accustomed to their new wild surroundings. They have little understanding of where they are and are used to getting their food on a bowl. Their inability to fend for themselves amidst nature makes them a perfect prey for other wild animals.

According to the BC SPCA, rabbits are the third most popular pet after cats and dogs. However, unlike cats and dogs, rabbits have unique needs, live for 10 years and reproduce a lot. In one year, a female rabbit could possibly birth 224 baby bunnies.

Amy Morris, BC SPCA’s Public Policy and Outreach Manager, is a pet owner and lives in a pet-friendly unit.

“Our shelters do receive quite a few animals that should have remained with the people they’ve formed bonds with. The current system is allowing these bonds to break, and for people and animals to suffer unnecessarily. And that’s where our concerns are – the emotional suffering of people and animals.” – Amy Morris, BC SPCA Public Policy and Outreach Manager

The Renters’ Dilemma

Vancouver’s rental market is infamous for its vacancy rate. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the overall vacancy rate in Metro Vancouver has remained under 1 per cent for three years.

When it comes to pets, RTA rules say a landlord can restrict the size, kind and number of pets allowed.

This means, legally, landlords can say no to pet-owners unlike in Ontario where “no pet” clauses in rental agreements are not permitted.

Eliot Galan and his dog Lucy were evicted from their apartment in 2015. Galan is the co-founder of Pets OK BC, a non-profit rallying to change legislation surrounding the no pets policy in rental housing.

“There was no consideration of giving her up just because of a landlord who didn’t give us a chance.” – Eliot Galan, Co-founder Pets OK BC

Most eviction notices give tenants 10 days, leaving them no time to find another pet-friendly apartment. This is an unrealistic time frame, says Galan.

According to Padmapper, a rental housing search engine, the average rent for a 1 bedroom in Vancouver is almost $2000 (Dec 2017). Click on the map to see the comparison of availability for pet friendly and non pet friendly units in that price range.

Provincial rules allow landlords to collect a pet damage deposit equaling one half of the first month’s rent, in addition to a security deposit.

While Pets Ok BC claims the typical cost of damage from pets is $40, David Hutniak, CEO of Landlord BC, challenges the notion saying that amount is “woefully inadequate”.

“We have rights too, as owners of these properties, we make huge investments in them. We feel we have the right to make the business decision whether or not we want to have a pet free building or a pet friendly building and that’s a right that should be protected.” – David Hutniak, CEO, Landlord BC

Hutniak cites noise complaints, allergies from pet dander and damages to common areas of the building as reasons for restrictions.

He also argues that a blanket ban on the no pet policy is not the solution. Instead, he says the landlord and not the province should be able to decide whether or not to allow pets. He believes the solution is to develop more pet friendly housing.

According to a 2011 Harris poll, 90% of pet owners consider their pets as members of their family.
(Claire Gabreau/Facebook)

For abandoned pet rabbits like Jingles and Meeka, this isn’t a choice they made.

However, for pet owners like Gabreau, the choice is simple.

“Ruben and Pearl are emotional support dogs. Because another move right now is just not. Just not! Not best for my health and well-being. We would obviously leave this city before we would abandon our pets, they are family,” Gabreau.